Interview Reflections

Interview Reflections

Today I have spent the day with Ludus Dance troupe, a community based Dance organisation in Lancaster. Whilst conducting interviews, making observations, filming dancers at work and collaborating chorographical ideas, my understanding into what dance means to Ludus users has developed even more.

Whilst still ‘thinking’ about how best to structure the analysis of my findings, and composing a format with recognised themes and structures, I have made some initial reflections upon the interview process themselves.

 The reflection process have highlighted areas in which my interview preparation lacked a little, and revealed a few ways in which I could have perhaps conducted myself more efficiently or more professionally.

Although initially I had only one officially organised interview, I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to talk with members of two dance troupes, one community based and one semi-professional Youth Dance Troupe.

Reflections:

Importance of Setting/Environment – although given the option to use a quiet, uninterrupted office to conduct interviews, I was pleased with the decision to stay in the dance studio itself.  My interpretations were that the respondents felt this was most appropriate, it was a comfortable, recognisable space for them, imposing at atmosphere to speak freely. Casual and friendly approach to the interview – sat on the floor, over lunch time break, this relaxed feel I felt helped to ease the flow of conversation.

Making respondents feeling they are in control  of the conversations direction– not wanting to force answers from respondents, I explained what I was hoping to research, and all students were given the option to contribute or not. Initially, only a few tentative students volunteered, but the nature in which we were speaking with one another meant a gradual migration to the group.

Audio Equipment – thankful to have recorded all responses, as a single researcher feeling the importance of maintaining eye contact, I couldn’t possibly have written field notes that were accurate enough for a well rounded analysis. The audio device was passed between respondents, so people were free to contribute when they felt they wanted to. This also meant I have the data in its rawest form to refer to. Rather than risking evaluating my interpretations of their answers, I can now quote exactly what was said, as well as referring to notes I made on body language, conversational flow, tone of voice, facial expression etc.

Number of Respondents - Although having lots of bodies willing to share their experiences, the situation almost turned into a focus group, all be in unintentionally. Had I had time to plan prior, I may have considered speaking in slightly smaller groups. On the other hand, perhaps the conversation was so fluid due to it being inclusive of everyone from the word go.

Consideration of Age – with speaking to some younger clients of Ludus (18/19), I sensed there may have been an element of them saying ‘what they wanted me to hear’. For future, I would need to explore ways in which to ensure they feel able to express their OWN opinions, regardless of the researchers experience in the topics being explored. In an inquiry of this nature, and with my position as a researcher and a trained dancer myself, this is something I shall have to factor into my analysis.

Unforeseen Time Constraints – my main interview for the day had been scheduled for an hour at the end of the day, unfortunately things overran, and we were left with very little time. The respondent needed to be out of the building by a certain time, so that struck out the factor of interviewing in a familiar space. They were also under time constraints that life brings (family commitments/car parking ticket etc) Respondent proposed conducting interview over a drink -  the atmosphere of being in a pub threw me as bit with regards to maintain a professional and fairly formal approach!  My concern for getting planned questions answered under the time constraints meant it was more difficult to flow with where the conversation was heading. As researchers, adaptability is crucial, hopefully a skill one learns through experiences like this one. Although consideration of the appropriate environment for an interview is important, sometimes circumstances will not allow for it. Getting a successful interview it seems lies with the ability of the research to adapt to where they find themselves, and still manage to get the best out of the individual circumstances.

A personal reflection was how I felt my competency for explaining my role/my purpose of being there/the purpose of the project improved from the beginning to the end of the day. My confidence in explaining what I hope to achieve in providing accurate, ethical researched information for the professional dance sector grew, as did my ability to truthfully re iterate my limits and limited capability as a single researcher.